30 Years of Marathon Training

We Know MORE, But It's Still 26.2 Miles

"There’s no race that’s simpler to prepare for than the marathon," wrote Mark Conover in our pages in 1996. Five years later, Pete Pfitzinger echoed him, writing, "While running a marathon isn’t easy, training for it should be relatively simple."

If this is the case — and who am I to question two Olympians — I postulated that I should be able to sort through all the marathon training articles published in RT over the past 30 years and find the essential, core principles by which to make all those four-page, four-month, four-point-font charts "simple." I also wanted to see what may have changed in those 30 years since RT began publishing marathon training programs.

One way of making it simpler is to isolate which marathoners we’re talking about. Beginning marathoners have different priorities and different programs than experienced marathoners. In the very first marathon training program RT published, penned by Tom Allison in February 1980 (coincidentally, the same year I first ran the marathon), we laid out our target audience:

This article is addressed to individuals between these two extremes [first-timer and elite]. If you have been running seriously for at least one year, have progressed up to 50 or more miles per week, and have completed at least one full marathon, then you may be ready to begin a training program that will enable you to run the fastest marathon possible for your age, sex, and genetic endowment.

With very few exceptions, all of our marathon training articles since then, some two dozen of them, have been aimed at the same runners. While this simplifies the parameters, it complicates the training, since for first timers, all that is required is adequate miles and some long runs, as Jeff Galloway spelled out in a crash-course for the 100th Boston, or as John Treacy said in the intro to his 1994 article:

Running a marathon is easy. All you have to do is put in the miles — perhaps 35 a week or so — more or less regularly, and you’ll be able to complete the course. To be sure, you shouldn’t be in any particular hurry, and you may need to walk from time to time, but you will get to the finish line. . . . Racing a marathon, however, is an entirely different matter.

What, then, do you need in order to race a marathon? Not necessarily as an elite, but to the best possible performance for your age, sex and genetic endowment? While terms change, different workouts get emphasized and phases get rearranged, four elements remain constant from that first 1980 article through the present: mileage, long runs, speed work and tapering.

+++ HOW MUCH MILEAGE

While elites nearly universally run 100-120 miles/week in preparation for the marathon, how much you need to do depends mostly on your goals, which in turn are dependent on how much mileage you can handle without injury. The following charts show weekly mileage estimates for different goals from three different authors over the past 30 years.

Jeff Galloway (1991)

Marathon Goal

Weekly Mileage

2:30

70+

2:35

60-70

2:40

55-65

2:50

50-60

3:00

45-55

3:10

40-50

3:20

38-48

3:30

35-45

4:00

30-40

Mark Conover (1996)

Marathon Goal

Weekly Mileage 6 months before

Weekly Mileage 4 months before

Weekly Mileage 2 months before

2:15-2:22

60

75

85

2:23-2:35

54

68

75

2:36-2:50

48

54

60

2:51-3:30

35

45

50

3:31-4:00

32

40

45

4:00+

21

27

30

Mark Winitz (2003, Daniels, Larieu Smith, Martin, Vigil)

Marathon Goal

Weekly Mileage - Base Phase (6 months)

Weekly Mileage - Marathon Buildup (final 4 months)

Sub 2:30

80+

80+

Sub 3:00

60-70

65-75

Sub 3:30

50-60

55-60

Sub 4:00

30-40

40

+ + + Mileage

How many miles do you need to run in order to race a marathon? Elites regularly report 100–120 miles per week, some even more. For us mortals, Tom Allison said 60-100 miles per week in 1980. At the time, he spent more space telling why you wouldn’t benefit that much more by going over 100 per week than defending the minimum. That would change.

In 1993 Jack Daniels stated, "I think that a serious runner who wants to break three hours using my program has to come to me already doing 70 miles a week." Talking to a different audience in 2003 (those aiming for a 4:00 or better marathon), he moderated considerably, saying that if you can comfortably run 30 minutes continuously each time you work out, regardless of pace, you are ready for marathon training.

The running masses have backed off from 100-mile weeks, but some minimums remain. David Martin summed it up well in a 2003 article: "I don’t think anybody can have an enjoyable experience running a marathon unless they’ve been averaging 40 miles per week for the better part of six months." I’m sure many readers will write to contradict that; if you’re one of those who raced to a PR on 30 miles per week, either you do a lot of other aerobic work or you’re lucky to be so gifted.

As for running more miles, that depends on your ability and your goals. Running more miles doesn’t necessarily correspond one-to-one with running faster in the marathon, but most runners need to be in a certain range to run certain times. See the "How Much Mileage" box for three charts presented in RT over more than a decade showing the miles needed for different time goals.